The Exception
by Justabibliophile
Summary: Genie is having trouble adapting to his freedom.


It had been a long couple of days since Genie was been freed, yet his wrists still felt empty without the golden cuffs.

Even now as he stood aimlessly outside the palace, he found himself rubbing his wrists. It was strange to feel skin, actual human skin without a tint of blue where there should have been gold. It was the one different material in his world of brass. Now, there was copper, silver, sand, wood, jams. So many things for him to drown in. He'd seen them before, but he was always imprisoned by the knowledge that he would be dragged back into the lamp in a short while. It was why he was so hyper, so determined to interact with anything and everything in what little time he had.

His previous masters were often overwhelmed by this. The ones who were "that guy" (unfortunately, the vast majority of them) would harshly shut down his antics. Because they were safe in the knowledge that the world wouldn't disappear at any moment. They were safe in the knowledge that there wasn't a ticking clock constantly hanging over them.

Now, the clock wasn't hanging over Genie either. There was no reason to be bombastic (not that he would stop being that way; it was a lot of fun) or try to embrace everything he could. There was no reason to delay so he could be outside longer. The world would still be there the next day.

A wonderful feeling, yes, but he still found himself rubbing his wrists. Waiting for the cuffs to return. The ticking in his head wouldn't stop.

With a sigh, Genie stared out at the crowds of people milling about before him. The sound of their chatter was loud and overwhelming, but he loved it. Every word screamed of the pure life reigning all around him. He loved noise in general. It wasn't something he got much of. Cooped up in the lamp, there wasn't much to hear except for the sound of him tapping the walls, talking to himself, and practicing the lyrics for the next song he planned to perform for his master. Sadly, they usually either didn't care to listen or didn't need any instruction. What a relief it was when Aladdin didn't know what he was.

Genie sat and watched for a long time. He'd been in the palace for far longer than he expected. He kept excusing it as him wanting to stay to help prepare Aladdin and Jasmine's wedding, but that wasn't the only reason. There was something else tying him here.

He was distracted from his thoughts by the sound of footsteps. Aladdin walked towards him.

"How are you doing?"

Genie shrugged. "You know, just sitting. How does it feel to be a prince? Er, almost a prince?"

Aladdin groaned. "Exhausting. I can't believe I actually thought I could keep this up before. You were right."

"Hey, I never said you couldn't be a prince. I just said that it isn't a good idea to try being a prince while lying to everybody."

"Well, once again you were right." Aladdin redirected the topic of the conversation quickly. "How does it feel to be free?"

_Free. _That word always induced a swelling of emotion, the feeling of the sun rising in his chest. But now, he just rubbed his wrists again. "It feels fantastic, kid. It really does."

"But…?" Aladdin prompted, causing Genie to wonder if his thought were really that easy to read.

"But it feels… I don't know, it just doesn't feel right."

"Believe me, I understand that."

The reply silently concerned Genie—they would need to have a talk about that later. But for now, he let Aladdin go on.

"But you're free. There aren't any strings attached to that one. What's wrong?" Aladdin barely gave Genie time to think up a response before he answered his own question. "It doesn't feel real, doesn't?"

"No. It doesn't." Now that Genie looked closer, he could see the slight outline on his wrists left by the cuffs. How long would it take for that to fade? "It's just… Like I said, I've never called a master a friend. I've lost track of all my masters after having so many. The fact that nobody bothered to ask what I would wish for until you says enough. You were the exception."

Aladdin nodded. "You've been disappointed too much for this to feel real?"

"Yeah. And…" It was then that Genie was hit by how young Aladdin was. How little of the world he had seen. He knew more pain than the average person, but he was still naive compared to him. "I've been around for a long time, kid. I'm sure humans are mostly nice—"

"Don't talk like you're not a human yourself," Aladdin said. "Because you are."

"Right. I'm sure humans are mostly nice, but that's in their everyday lives. When you give them phenomenal cosmic power, things get ugly. It brings out the worst in them. I've seen decent people go mad with power. I almost saw you fall into that trap. I've had to do terrible, terrible things over the years."

For a second, he was back there again. Staring sorrowfully at the people who backed away from him in fear. Even Dalia took a step back. Granting the wishes of someone he hated. Putting everybody in danger. Having to watch as his closest friend was nearly killed while he could only sit back and do nothing…

"Look at all these people." Genie gestured our towards the crowd. "All of them are kind, but if I offered them the cup, how many would drink it? The estimate is too high for my liking."

Genie let out a heavy sigh, a boulder having been lifted off his shoulders. He'd been waiting to let it all out for a long, long time, but he never had anyone to say it to until now.

Aladdin took all of this in silence. He was staring at the floor in deep thought. His face flickered with memories. Finally, he spoke. "I think you know what I used to be. A street rat."

"Hey, don't call yourself that."

"But it's true. I grew up stealing, fighting for my life. I didn't get a very pretty picture of humanity either. At best, they'd pretend not to hear my begging. At worst, they'd hurt me and punish me. It was brutal. For a long time, I assumed they all had to be terrible. I even assumed the royal family wasn't good, that the princess who we hadn't seen for years had to be a spoiled brat."

Genie laughed at that one. It was like a blanket that shielded him from any pain. After years of loneliness, he tried his best to make people laugh even though he knew they would abandon him later. It was a relief that somebody else cared enough to try and make him laugh instead.

Aladdin grinned. "Yeah, that was completely wrong. But I was wrong about everything. I realized it a couple years ago. It was night, I was starving, I was weak. It was the worst I'd ever felt. I almost thought I was going to die. This young man was walking. I think he was heading home to his family. He saw me. I moved to get away, but...he gave me food. That saved my life."

Genie's heart hurt. He knew how awful Aladdin's had been, but it was still difficult to hear about his best friend going through such things.

"I thought he was just the exception, but I was wrong. People _are _kind. I was just in a situation where it was hard to see that. And you were also put in a situation where it's hard. The important thing to understand that _I'm _not the exception either. Neither are Jasmine and Dalia. The real exception is Jafar. All the terrible people you and I have met are the exceptions. So don't let the actions of a few awful people ruin your freedom."

Genie was silent as he stared at the crowd with a newfound view. Their chatter was still loud. And he was right, that was the sound of life. He'd been forced to do terrible things, but nobody could make him do anything now. Most people wouldn't want to do that to him.

He really, truly wasn't going to be disappointed again.

Glee rose inside of him as he turned and looked at his best friend, and the one who freed him. "Al, you're wise beyond your years."

"I try. Now come on, go out there. The cuffs are gone. You're free."

_I'm free._

Genie took a deep breath. The sounds of life, the feeling of the air around him. All of his senses were bursting. The world was not going to disappear tomorrow. And the people he met weren't going to try to take it away from him.

"Thanks, kid. And remember, you may not be the exception, but you're still a special one. The Diamond in the Rough."

"Thanks, Genie." He paused. "You're not a genie anymore. Shouldn't you get an...actual name?"

Of course. He'd been called Genie for so long, it felt both odd and exhilarating to know that was no longer his name. He was human. "I don't know. There are so many names. Robin, James, Will, there are too many to choose. It doesn't matter right now. Let's just...enjoy this."

Aladdin nodded. The two of them stood in silence before they burst into laughter again. He could share his laughter with somebody. He could always share it now. He wasn't a servant anymore.

And for the first time, Genie's empty wrists felt completely content.

**That felt a little too somber for a character as hilarious as the Genie, but I like writing angst, and I always felt like someone in his position would have some. Oh well. Hope you enjoyed that.**


End file.
